


Your Voice Painted My Vision

by fluffier432



Series: Marvel Oneshots [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, College!AU, M/M, Soulmates, Steve Rogers is a pilot, Stony - Freeform, Tony Stark is a college student, coffee shop!AU, its very deep, no powers!AU, soulmate!AU, they just met, tony loves steve's voice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 04:30:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17676479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffier432/pseuds/fluffier432
Summary: He still had over 450 words to write, and he was sitting in a bustling 24-hour coffee shop at eleven o’clock.The stress was on, and all his mind could focus on was the voices of the other customers as strangers asked strangers if they could sit with them in the stuffed café. Places like cafés were constantly busy, filled to the brim with people trying to find their soulmate, trying to hear that one voice that would allow their eyes see past the film that thrust everyone into colorblindness. Tony had only come for the Wifi, letting the squeaky door and random voices fizz out into background noise.The next time he looked up to sip his mocha latte with extra whipped cream, he nearly gasped out loud. Everything around him had changed.





	Your Voice Painted My Vision

**_On_ ** _ the nanoscale, gravity is much less important than the electromagnetic forces between atoms and molecules… _

Tony’s fingers paused and hovered over the keys, unsure of where to go next. He had to write a paper for his tech class about any technology he wanted, and he had chosen nanotech. It was an interesting topic, he supposed, not that he thought he’d use the information he gathered past a grade. The only problem was that it was due at midnight, he still had over 450 words to write, and he was sitting in a bustling 24-hour coffee shop at eleven o’clock.

The stress was on, and all his mind could focus on was the voices of the other customers as strangers asked strangers if they could sit with them in the stuffed café. Places like cafés were constantly busy, filled to the brim with people trying to find their soulmate, trying to hear that one voice that would allow their eyes to see past the film that thrust everyone into colorblindness. Tony had only come for the Wifi, letting the squeaky door and random voices fizz out into background noise.

_ A nanoscopic microscope uses electronic and quantum effects to see things that are even smaller than… _

Eventually, Tony became so engrossed with his paper that all he could see were the words on his laptop screen. The next time he looked up to sip his mocha latte with extra whipped cream, he nearly gasped out loud. Everything around him had _ changed.  _ There was more  _ substance  _ and  _ personality _ to the people idly sitting around him, the posters on the walls all looked  _ different _ from each other, and there was about 30 voices in the tiny café to choose from.

Tony’s essay was still missing around 200 words, and there was half an hour to twelve o’clock. Priorities. 

Unfortunately, Tony’s ADHD didn’t really let him choose. Eyes scanning the shop for anything that stood out, the paper suddenly didn’t seem to matter. The only important thing to do now was  _ find his soulmate _ .

People found their soulmates every day, there were stories posted online of people saying hello to a stranger and them breathing out that  _ they can see colors _ , and it was a big deal and everyone around them celebrated and they lived happily ever after. It was always obvious who it was. Not for Tony; his luck didn’t stretch that far. Nope, he had to find his soulmate and he had to find them  _ now _ . He supposed he could just stand up and shout; his soulmate would hear his voice and respond accordingly.

Before he could protest, he was getting to his feet and drawing in a breath on autopilot. Despite being a generally confident individual, he was suddenly at a loss for words. How does one address their soulmate without knowing their name? He couldn’t just  _ yell _ with no plan. His voice would get drowned out by everyone else’s anyway, even if he  _ did _ shout at the top of his lungs.

Sitting back down, Tony stewed over his (limited) options. First option: sit there and wait for soulmate magic to, for lack of better words, work its magic. Second option: go around and talk to everyone in the café. Third option: try to airdrop a message to as many people as he can and hope his soulmate receives it.

Who was he kidding, none of those options would ever work. Lost in thought, Tony’s eyes didn’t catch the broad-shouldered man approaching, looking apprehensive and holding a coffee and his own device.

Tony jumped when a deep voice rang out, the vibrations both in his ears and, seemingly, in his head.

“Sorry to interrupt your train of thought, but could I take this seat?” he asked smoothly, words flowing steadily past his lips. It was cheesy and Tony knew it, but this stranger already had his heart.

“Oh, yes--sure,” Tony floundered, flustered as anything and blushing bright as the sun. Had he been doing anything else other than staring into those baby blue eyes, he wouldn’t have noticed the tiny hitch in the man’s breath once he spoke.

“Holy shit,” the stranger muttered, Tony’s ears straining to pick up the swear. The only sound that was easy to hear anymore was the beating in Tony’s chest. 

After a few seconds of simply staring each other down, the men realized themselves again. The stranger sat down across from Tony, who cleared his throat nervously and readjusted himself on his own seat.

It was another few moments before either of them gathered enough courage to speak.

“I suppose I should introduce myself?” the stranger started. Tony could only nod, star-struck and reeling over the fact that  _ he just found his actual, real-life soulmate _ .

“Steve Rogers, pilot for the United Airlines.” Steve stuck out a hand, a common gesture Tony’s mind had bypassed, going straight to  _ kiss _ which made him force himself to refrain from lunging forward. Instead, he shakily mimicked the action, hand sliding easily to fit into the other’s fingers, as if they were made to fit together.

“Tony Stark. Uh, college student?” As he said it, something clicked in Tony’s mind. “Who has a paper due ten minutes ago,” he sighed, checking the time.

Steve obviously tried to muffle his laughter, feigning distress when he saw Tony watching him. “Forget it, then. It’s already late, what’s the harm in waiting until morning?”

“Well, I would’ve had it  _ done  _ already if it wasn’t for you coming in and  _ distracting _ me with colors and shit.”

The laughter wasn’t hidden this time. They both chuckled the initial awkwardness off, the muscles in Tony’s muscles relaxing and the undertone of polite I-don’t-know-you wearing off Steve’s voice.

They chatted a little while longer, exchanging numbers when the sun peeped at them from beyond the horizon.

“Text me, we can figure out a date we’re both free,” Tony suggested, grabbing his scarf and flinging it around Steve’s neck. “Don’t forget,” he whispered into the man’s ear, shifting his weight to his toes as he did so.

“Oh, I don’t think I will,” Steve answered just as smoothly, “especially with this to remind me.” He fingered the material of the scarf, admiring it.

They smirked at each other one last time, finally going their separate ways.

_ The real question is whether the promise of nanotechnology is greater than any potential risks that go with it. And that will determine whether our nano-future becomes dream—or nightmare. _

Tony’s paper may have gotten ten marks off for being submitted a day late, but Tony considered it worth the colors he could  _ finally _ see at the movies, seated next to his tall, blond date.


End file.
